Xenium
by Allie02
Summary: On a diplomatic mission, Teyla had been assigned a xenium which Rodney loosely translated to mean escort. Teyla and Rodney pairing, prerelationship


_For the Live Journal Community "letter love", the letter being X. Xenium: gift made to a guest or ambassador - __http/phrontistery.info/x.html__ (lists unusual words). A tenuous link if ever I saw one...I spent hours on the net trying to find __words beginning with the letter X that I could use as a prompt – this is the best that I could do I'm afraid._

**Xenium**

Teyla looked up from her plate when she heard Rodney's cup slam down onto the table, liquid spilling over the side. She tried to catch his eye but he resolutely stared at his half-eaten meal. Her attention was wrenched from him when a hand was placed tentatively on her thigh, and she turned sharply to see a seductive smile on Dian's face. He had been assigned as her 'xenium' for the duration of their diplomatic trip, which Rodney had loosely translated to mean escort. He had been dismayed to find that Dian took his duties very seriously, and that Teyla hadn't made any overt signs of discouragement.

Rodney coughed and shifted uncomfortably as he watched Dian lean closer to Teyla to whisper in her ear, his eyes shifting in Rodney's direction every so often to gauge his reaction. As he heard Teyla's delighted laughter in response to her companion's speech, Rodney's patience snapped and he stood abruptly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling so well. I think I'll just go to my room and lie down for a while." He didn't dare look in Teyla's direction as he left the dining room, making his way to the rooms that they had been allocated for the duration of their stay.

Rodney swung the door behind him after he entered but a foot caught it before it slammed shut. He sighed and turned around, knowing it was her. "Dr. McKay, is there something wrong? You barely ate anything and have been unusually quiet."

He snorted. "Well, perhaps if I had been given my own xenium, at least I'd have someone to talk to. Though I guess your little friend has more on his mind than just talking."

"There are plenty of people at the table who wish to speak to you, if you would give them the time. And Dian is only doing his job."

"Oh, I'm sure he's great at what he does. I just never had you down as someone who encouraged that sort of thing. Sheppard and Ronon, yes. But not you."

Her eyes widened as realisation slowly dawned. "You are jealous!"

Rodney coughed and spluttered as he tried desperately to think of an answer that wasn't the truth. "I most certainly am not! Look, you're my colleague, my team mate, my friend. I'm just looking out for you, that's all. I mean, what are you going to do, sleep with this guy? He could get you pregnant, he's probably teeming with sexually transmitted diseases, he could give you all sorts!"

Teyla sighed as she stepped closer, her hands wrapping gently around his forearms. "We are guests here. It would be rude of me not to show gratitude for the gifts that our hosts have bestowed upon us. However, I have no intention of 'sleeping' with Dian, as you put it."

"Oh...well, that's...that's good. I mean, you know, for your health and sexual well-being." Her cocked eyebrow made him blush and avert his eyes, but his attention didn't stray for long as her hands tightened their grip and slowly made their way up his sleeves. "Teyla...what are you doing?"

"I want you to admit that you are jealous." She watched the movement of his throat as he swallowed.

"I am not jealous, Teyla."

Her hands reached his the back of his neck, and she entwined her fingers as the rest of her body pressed insistently against his. "So...you do not find me attractive, then?"

He scoffed and defiantly held his head high, refusing to look her in the eye. "Every man that's ever met you finds you attractive. That doesn't mean that I'm jealous."

She decided to show pity on him and slowly backed away, but his wrists caught hers as they slipped from his neck. "What if I was jealous? Would that change anything?"

She leant forward, stopping when her lips were inches from his ear. "It would change everything."

She gently freed her wrists as she turned to leave, leaving him standing in the middle of the room with a mixture of astonishment and delight on his face.


End file.
